With American cheese consumption increasing 42 percent over the last 25 years, according to USDA figures, there’s no arguing that U.S. cheese consumption is at an all-time high. While opportunities for continued growth in the category appear strong, the ways in which people are consuming and enjoying cheese continues to evolve.

Mega trends like natural and specialty cheese consumption, the Millennial generation’s impact on the food industry, snacking, and the growing use of social networks and apps for recipes and purchase decisions will continue to gather momentum. The top cheese trends also reflect the constant evolution of the American palate and a growing desire for unique, bold flavors.

Some of the Spanish cheeses are internationally renowned, such as the Manchego cheese of La Mancha. Some regions are better known for their cheeses than others; 23 cheeses are classified as Protected Designation of Origin (D.O.P. Denominación de Origen Protegida) by Spain and the European Union.

Fiscalini Cheese Co., a noted producer in the Modesto area, once again has taken home a major award from London.

It was one of 18 trophy winners at the World Cheese Awards, which drew nearly 2,600 entries for its 2014 competition.

Fiscalini won the trophy for best mature traditional cheddar with its Bandage Wrapped Cheddar, aged for 18 months at its Kiernan Avenue plant. It also was one of 62 recipients of super gold scores from the judges.

Raw-milk cheese has been under scrutiny in recent years, as federal regulators have attempted to establish a safety standard for the commodity.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched a pilot program in January 2014 to do just that, but it has since plagued producers, importers, and retailers with a high number of samplings and holds on raw-milk cheese varieties produced domestically and abroad. Some in the industry have seen issues with these samplings in recent months, and many are beginning to question the program’s rules and effectiveness.

The FDA says it is using the program to learn more about how 60-day aged raw-milk cheese becomes contaminated with foodborne pathogens, and what patterns, if any, may help predict potential contamination in the future. The agency set out to collect 1,600 samples from American and foreign producers and, as of August, had collected 885. At this time, the collection and testing is slated for completion in January.

As a result of what some in the industry are seeing as ample sampling, importers and retailers have seen three- to five-week holds on imported cheeses, as well as practices that aren’t properly outlined and often changed, all with little communication from the FDA. These issues have meant holes in inventory and already-ripe cheese hitting the shelves during the industry’s busiest time of the year.

There is a growing trend in cheese consumption in the United States; it is twice the amount it was 25 years ago and there is no end in sight.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “The average U.S. cheese consumption nearly tripled between 1970 and 2003, from 11 pounds per person to 31 pounds.”

So what is causing this love-of-cheese trend? According to the USDA, “The rising cheese consumption has been aided by ready availability of a wider variety of cheeses, more away-from-home eating, and greater popularity of ethnic cuisines that employ cheese as a major ingredient.”

With an impressing consistency Affineur Walo von Mühlenen manges to be always among the most
successful participants. This year Affineur Walo was awarded 2 Super Gold, 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bonze Medals. This success confirms the high quality and consistency of Swiss cheese specialities
from the affineur Walo. Since almost 150 years, the von Mühlenens’ have been aiming to mature the best artisan raw milk cheese from Switzerland to perfection. The cheeses from affienur Walo are
exported to Germany, France, Sweden, Finnland, Italy, New York, Tokyo and Manila. The growing
popularity shows that consistent pursuit of the best quality is the right strategy for Swiss cheese.

At Alexander Krupetskov’s one-window cheese store in central Moscow, sales of products from France have tripled in the past two weeks.

Shoppers are stocking up on foods set to become scarce after Russia banned a range of products from the European Union and the U.S. in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine. The nation of 143 million has been one of the fastest-growing export markets for French cheesemakers as Moscovites acquire a taste for creamy brie, pungent camembert and spicy Roquefort.

“The very foundation of the shop has been cast into major doubt,” said Krupetskov, who has four weeks of inventory left.

Raw-milk cheese has been in the news over the past couple months. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing its raw-milk standards for cheese for the past several years, and many think it will soon make a decision that will affect the small artisan cheese producers in the United States and Europe.

The most recent dustup has come by way of a hold by FDA on imports from Europe of certain cheeses it deemed unfit for consumption. FDA’s statement on the issue can be read here.

The “problem” was found in several traditional raw-milk cheeses that we know well, Roquefort being the most well-known. You can read the long list of affected cheeses on FDA Import Alert #12-10 here.

Something called nontoxigenic E. coli is to blame for the hold on these cheeses. At first glance, most people would say, “Well, good, I don’t want cheese to be let into the U.S. that is contaminated with E. coli.” Right? Except that this type of E. coli does not make people sick.

Los Angeles cheese counters could soon be a lot less aromatic, with several popular cheeses falling victim to a more zealous U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Roquefort — France’s top-selling blue — is in the agency’s cross hairs along with raw-milk versions of Morbier, St. Nectaire and Tomme de Savoie.

In early August, these cheeses and many more landed on an FDA Import Alert because the agency found bacterial counts that exceeded its tolerance level. Cheeses on Import Alert can’t be sold in the U.S. until the producer documents corrective action and five samples test clean, a process that can take months.

Of course, French creameries haven’t changed their recipes for any of these classic cheeses. But their wheels are flunking now because the FDA has drastically cut allowances for a typically harmless bacterium by a factor of 10.

Swiss cheesemakers’ weapon against forgeries is housed at minus 80 degrees Celsius in a Bern freezer. It’s here where scientists keep 10,000 strains of milk bacteria to guard against copycats.

The country’s cheese industry, worth 604 million Swiss francs ($706 million) in exports last year, has turned to DNA fingerprinting to fight counterfeits, which Emmental producers estimate have cost them as much as 20 million francs.

Forgeries are contributing to declining revenue for an industry that’s already beleaguered because of high production costs and the rise in value of the Swiss franc, which makes the country’s cheese more expensive abroad. About 10 per cent of cheese labeled as Swiss-made Emmental on supermarket shelves is fake, estimates association Switzerland Cheese Marketing.